Supernova: Jim Raynor Meets Valerian Mengsk (Starcraft 2 | 4th Xel'Naga Artifact Part)

At the beginning of the Second Great War, Raynor's Raiders was hired by the Moebius Foundation to retrieve the components to a xel'naga device (secretly for Crown Prince Valerian Mengsk). The Foundation directed the Raiders to Typhon XI and the fourth component. The Tal'darim anticipated the move from previous encounters and were already dug in around the component when the terrans arrived. The operation assumed even greater urgency when the output of the local star jumped five hundred percent as a prelude for going nova. The planet surface was already being affected by massive firestorms. The Raiders had mere hours before the stellar event.
The Raiders cleared an initial base location with newly acquired Banshees. The terrans realized they could use their mobile structures to keep ahead of the firestorm. A large supply cache was established planet side precluding the need for supply depots. Once again the Tal'darim failed to stop the terran intruders. Raynor's Raiders kept a scheduled rendezvous with Moebius Foundation after Typhon XI. They were surprised to be met by Dominion battlecruisers, led by the imperial flagship Bucephalus. The Dominion ships took no hostile action, but Commander Jim Raynor ordered the Hyperion to latch onto the enemy flagship for a boarding action. Raynor expected Emperor Arcturus Mengsk to be aboard. However, having fought through the defenders, Raynor was surprised to confront the Emperor's son, Valerian, instead. The prince revealed his ownership of the Foundation and offered an opportunity to save Sarah Kerrigan.
Valerian explained the components formed a xel'naga device capable of making Kerrigan human again. Raynor accepted Mengsk's offer for an alliance. Captain Matt Horner and Tychus Findlay feared Raynor's personal feelings were leading them into a Dominion trap. These concerns were shared by other Raiders and doubts on Raynor's leadership began spreading...
The 18th mission (number may differ) of "Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty" - "Supernova" on planet Typhon XI. And meeting with Valerian Mengsk. Watch more Starcraft videos: bit.ly/1b1W2yY.

[@Einargizz]

"Valerian. We've come out of Hyperspace and have located Raynor's ship. It's on an intercept course. Should we hail them and let them know who we are?" "No. Allow them to board our ship and offer resistance as they fight their way to my quarters. There I will wait with my back turned to the door, hoping that Raynor will ask me to turn around instead of just outright shooting me, thinking that he's dealing with my father. Trust me. It will look awesome."

[@QUADEeee]

:)

[@danielamezcua3911]

Einar Gissurarson a bit late my Icelandic friend, but I love and hate how true this is :D

[@kadindarklord]

... Why does Raynor mistake Valerian for his father anyway? We know what Arcturus looks like. He has brown hair.

[@Lesolan]

*afterwards* "Wow, sir! You were totally right! That was badass as hell!" "I know, now go get those bullet holes looked at."

[@SirBrosif286]

LMAO! Yous described this perfectly I never understood the pointless battle haha

[@anotheremptychannel9202]

Good guy Tycus trying to warn Jim he's going to betray him. What a legend.

[@CristianDCure]

he was a great friend. raynor on the other side...

[@GamefreakRX]

Well he doesnt -want- to betray him. Like even at the last second Tychus could have killed Kerrigan but he let Raynor choose. Best boy Tychus

[@kadindarklord]

@@GamefreakRX Arcturus wasn't going to let him live either way. You can tell his suit is shutting down his organs before the shooting

[@roastedpizza7679]

Tychus is one of my favorit characters from starcraft it was so sad when he die

[@AdeptKing]

I highly doubt Arcturus was going to let him live if he actually came through.

[@StevemanChair]

“Turn around, Arcturus. I want you to see this coming” As a SC1 fan waiting near 15 years for this game at the time, I got chills from that line when I first heard it

[@TheEDFLegacy]

At first when I played WoL, I thought Valerian would have become another Mengsk. Honestly rather interesting how he turned into a rather compassionate leader. He obviously used the cunning of his father to get what he needed, and then turned it into benevolence.

[@Mosdra_Kazuma]

everyone thought he was like his father fanfiction was filled with it

[@stephenwood6663]

As Arcturus once put it: "It does help that our enemies are greater tyrants than we are. Or ever intend to be." Valerian learned the lessons of Arcturus' career better than Arcturus did: one can garner a lot of public support from appearing to be a better option than the alternative. This is an easier task if you actually *are* a better option than the alternative.

[@TheEDFLegacy]

@@stephenwood6663 Absolutely. In a way, this happens in real life, too; usually revolutions start by a single leader, and in effect that person is a dictator until they relinquish control (often after they set up a constitution and whatnot).

[@girlgarde]

@@stephenwood6663 Valerian must've gotten his good side from his mother. Then again, Arcturus had good in him once but he allowed his hatred for the Confederacy for murdering his parents and sister as well as for nuking Korhal to corrupt him and turn him into a monster.

[@PCRyder]

2 men storm an enormous Battle Cruiser Flagship. Shoot 4 guys and have instant access to the Emperors room. Those two are OP as fuq or they've got 10 people running that ship.

[@kadindarklord]

There is probably more that we don't see.

[@TheEDFLegacy]

Their suits were made of the incredible material Plotanium.

[@Destroyer2150]

Plot armor and writting that makes no sense

[@crimsonlanceman7882]

dude it jumpscuts to their current position near the... It's obvious that they didn't burst through the entire security consisting of just... 4 guys or something

[@Tayace1]

If this came out today, it would be review bombed over "bad writing" or some other garbage excuse by people with an agenda.

[@ChairmanJMao]

Did he just scratch that record?!? The monster

[@archie2038]

We all have that one crazy friend who aint scared of anything and can casually say something like "C'mon, partner! We got hours till that sun explodes."

[@TheKnightOfSmite]

Matt: I hate working for the Dominion Raynor: We'll save billions of lives, it's a just cause Matt: Killing Mengsk > billions Raynor: GET THE HELL OFF MY SHIP Matt: Ok that was a dumb thing to say I'm sorry

[@mechanomics2649]

It's more that Matt doubts how much Jim's changing of objectives really had to do with saving lives over how much it's actually about getting Kerrigan back.

[@umigainsborough1]

SPACE ARTHAS!!!!

[@mortenpedersen763]

Or Anduin. Depending on perspective

[@jevil1371]

Maybe it's Revolver Ocelot from Snake Eater? (Valerian is voiced by Josh Keaton)

[@jevil1371]

Maybe it's Revolver Ocelot from Snake Eater? (Valerian is voiced by Josh Keaton)

[@harioschtroliki]

More like space Anduin

[@donaldgannon5746]

its literally the voice actor for anduin

[@RopeDrink]

I never played any of the newer SC's (Just SC1, Broodwar etc, the classics) but the first thing I noticed is that as soon as it cuts to the bar-UI, there's a Nelf-Female dancing hologram (WoW) upstairs.

[@how2risen401]

You really missed something then

[@Curseius]

love how jim hangs up on valerian and smirks

[@kadindarklord]

To people asking why Valerian didn't speak to Raynor, would you have listened to him?

[@arathhunter]

I'd imagine normally no, but this is the space opera, They'd totally anwser just to banter between themselves before the fight.

[@panzerhuy445]

Anyone notice that Valerian’s record was playing the same music from the Brood War intro?

[@Xpwnxage]

Lol Raynor is such an inspiring leader. "IT AIN'T UP FOR DISCUSSION SWAN, I GOTTA DO THIS!".

[@failing244]

Supernova was the hardest mission for me. I had no good troops, only Banshees and basic infantry.

[@hasanaboushady5615]

Bit late but, you don't really need anything else other than banshees and basic troops (Marines, medics, etc)

[@jackdaniels1460]

Yup. That's how I do it everytime. Only I do a drop with the Hercules transport. And don't say basic infantry. Upgraded Marine marauder medic is OP.

[@failing244]

@@hasanaboushady5615I must have newbie placement then, I lost 95% of my troops to the Protoss.

[@Creed12able1]

Oh boy my Valerian soon siding with the undead. Oh wait this isn't Warcraft III. Fight me.

[@nostalgicwarframeplayer1231]

Valerian reveals new flagship Frostmourne. Scans indicate that the crew is mostly reanimated

[@Michaentus]

Yeah I agree that boarding was a stupid scene just for the reveal.

[@TheEDFLegacy]

Nah. It's a great way to force a face-to-face meeting. As someone else pointed out, had Valerian simply hailed him, Raynor would have thought it was a trap. Had Valerian put up a proper fight, Raynor would have likely died. But Valerian also know how much of a justice boner Raynor had to kill Mengsk, so by bringing Mengsk's flagship, he knew he could get what he wanted. Granted, that required balls of titanium. Kudos to Valerian. lol

[@chuuwars]

@@TheEDFLegacy it's like tosh says if you join him, valerian is more brave than it looks

[@TheEDFLegacy]

@@chuuwars 💯

[@harrisonchong7237]

13:15 Valerian explains to Raynor. Raynor want to get Sarah back.

[@Southern_Crusader]

Space Southerners make everything cooler.

[@OverseerXIII]

I declare exterminatus upon the Imperial world of Typhon Pri- Wrong universe.

[@Helix597]

Striker Lillith the emperor protects. We shall strike down the foul Xenos

[@AdeptKing]

I mean the marines look like Astartes, not exactly as good though.

[@generaljimmies3429]

@@AdeptKing Blizzard was originally supposed to make games for Warhammer/Warhammer 40k but it fell through back in the 90s. Blizzard took their old concept and created Warcraft and Starcraft respectively.

[@mechanomics2649]

@@AdeptKing The Marines of SCII are a better concept than the Space Marines of Warhammer.

[@cogitae]

Tychus deserved better.

[@slatealan7082]

space anduin

[@MrVieDetailing]

I wish they recreated starcraft 1 and 2 into one big storyline and added some more missions.

[@girlgarde]

Horner and Swann shouldn't have been angry and confrontational towards Raynor when advising him here as well as treating him like an idiot, Raynor only dug his heels in and didn't listen to them. They should've done what Dr Hanson does if she's still around by this point, express concern for Raynor's decision and calmly advise him against it or to at least be cautious which'll make him more likely to listen to them.

[@afnao]

Anduin? Is that you?

[@artemizoasis7972]

"Ground control To Major Tom"!!!!!

[@Knuckles2761]

Very convenient how they have a presentation for "star surprisingly goes supernova and mission will be on fire".

[@karmasection2578]

Why did tygus hesitate before shooting?

[@joshuagabrielcatindig7607]

Cuz Dominion troops? I dunno.

[@evening_star]

I imagine it's because he's envisioning how he's going to do it with Kerrigan later in the story. He doesn't want to betray Jimmy and yet he's put in a position where either way he may die and it's a lose lose.

[@kxmode]

Here's a perfect demonstration of how dumb video game writers tend to be. "Wait. What the?" "The star's energy output just jumped five hundred percent. I've never seen anything like it." "Slow down, man. What's it mean?" "It means the star will go nova in a few hours." Matt Horner would not have known the star would go nova, nor would he know it would in a few hours if he never saw anything like it. Instead, the dialog would have sounded more natural like this: "Wait. What the?" "The star's energy output just jumped five hundred percent. I've never seen anything like it." "Slow down, man. What's it mean?" "I don't precisely know. I'll have my people research. We'll know in a half-hour based on existing data. In the meantime, prep your men." And then, on the planet, he would inform them of the impending danger. That would have made the mission more nail-biting.

[@hzhang1228]

maybe by the time humans are colonizing the galaxy the knowledge would be space 101 information. not seeing in person does not equate to not having the knowledge, it's the whole point of the writing/teaching thing that we do. people can still be amazed at seeing something they have only heard/read about. "Here's a perfect demonstration of how dumb video game writers tend to be." words of the true intellectual.

[@kxmode]

@@hzhang1228 He said, "I've never seen anything like it," so he wouldn't have enough knowledge or information to know the star would go supernova, let alone in a few hours. This could be a rare star where a 500% energy output doesn't make the star unstable. It merely makes it hotter and more dangerous.

[@hzhang1228]

@@kxmode exclaiming "never seen anything like it" is to express awe and amazement. stars expanding in size and energy output before going nova is common knowledge today, one might safely assume it is covered in the most basic space for kids books by sc2's universe. you are now making up a specific scenario to defend this supposed plot hole, which is a pointless argument as anyone can make up specific scenarios that may not even be in realm of possibilities to justify anything. the more likely scenario would be w/e chart is displaying the 500% increase in output would also display indications calculated by AI. "He said, "I've never seen anything like it," so he wouldn't have enough knowledge or information" i have already explained in my previous reply that not seeing in person does not equate to not having the information. idk how you make that connection. you look at astronaut reacting to seeing earth and get that overview effect, some describe as never thought they could see something like it, some would cry and be in awe everything they look out the window. one could safely assume that these people have seen the earth before, that they know a thing or two about it; what makes those colors, lights ect but they still say i have never seen anything like it. once you are trying too hard to point out a plot hole/bad writing there is no plot hole/bad writing.

[@kxmode]

@@hzhang1228 You might be right. You make good points.

[@tichondrius4215]

I don't think a star would suddenly have it's power output jump by 500%.

[@iantaylor2331]

/face palm

[@m4ttebl4ck]

so we're not going to talk about how a group of innocent soldiers died for literally nothing just because they didn't call first

[@maniacalcoast2742]

SIMPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

[@jeramahia123]

Why are all the female terrans restricted to either pilots or medics? Not really progressive in the future, are they?

[@oblivionlalo]

They are also Ghosts.

[@SgtHawk45]

Ghosts Liberators Siege Tanks (at least for one) Marines in the lore Heck they recruit a lot of females in lore. While the portraits are limited, in the comics and books they have plenty of females in the ranks.

[@Clarity520]

It’s called being economical

[@lordironhidex]

You say that but when the savior of their universe, Kerrigan was originally a Ghost. Can you really say what you said? Plus there's Nova too. In Coop Campaigns there's also General Davis

[@nanoman8]

What do you expect from space southeners